Income tax filing time in South Carolina

Early-bird taxpayers can now submit their income tax returns, while procrastinators will have an extra weekend to get their filing done in 2017.

University of South Carolina accounting professor Donna Schmitt told South Carolina Radio Network that you will have some more time to file this year. “You have a few extra days to file your return because the deadline isn’t until April 18 this year,” Schmitt said. “Because the 15th is on a Saturday and then they have a holiday in Washington, DC on the 17th. So you get a couple extra days to do it.”

She said you can e-file your return at no cost through the Internal Revenue Service’s website. “You don’t have to pay to file electronically and get your refund quickly, you are able to file for free,” said Schmitt. “You can free file through the IRS if your income is less than $64,000 a year.”

If you are getting an earned income tax credit or an additional child credit and file very early you still will not get your refund right away. “Those refunds the earliest that you will get them is February 15,” Schmitt said.

IRS officials expect more than 70 percent of taxpayers to get tax refunds this year. In 2016, 111 million refunds were issued, with an average refund of $2,860.